Exit Strategy. Shirlee McCoy

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       TWO

      Lark listened to the sound of footsteps on linoleum, her eyes squeezed shut, her grip tight on the key. She didn’t dare turn to see who was coming. The key was her one hope of escape, and she was afraid whoever it was would see it and take it from her.

      Beside her, fabric rustled and the floor creaked.

      She didn’t open her eyes. Let whoever it was think that she was asleep. Better yet, let him think she was unconscious. Maybe he’d go away. Leave her alone to figure out how she could open the cuffs without being seen by the security team.

      “I know you’re awake.” The voice was smooth and rich, and she recognized it immediately. The man who’d dropped the key. The one who’d mentioned Essex.

      Was it a trick? Some sort of mind game to get her to...

      What?

      Confess to searching Elijah’s office?

      She’d been caught doing that, so eliciting a confession wouldn’t make any sense. But, then, nothing had made sense since she’d arrived back at Amos Way. Not her mother-in-law’s silence. Not her father-in-law’s fanaticism. Eric had changed since Joshua died. Not in a good way.

      “Lark.” The man sighed. “Let’s not play games, okay? We’re on borrowed time as it is.” He cupped her biceps, pulled her up easily. She was sitting, then standing so quickly she felt dizzy with it. For a moment, she was back in time, standing with Joshua, looking at the compound for the first time, listening to him talk about growing up free from the trappings of the world, tuned into nature and focused on The Creator. She’d fallen in love with the picture he’d painted, but, then, she’d already been in love with him.

      “You going to walk with your eyes closed or do you want me to carry you out of here? Either works for me.”

      The words were a splash of ice water in the face. She jerked away, the key pressed so hard into her palm, she knew the imprint of it would be left in her skin.

      He didn’t try to pull her back, just stood where he was, blocking her path to the door. Maybe six-foot, a hundred and eighty pounds. Big compared to Lark, but she’d never been intimidated by physical strength. At least not in recent years. When she’d been a kid, walking home in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Chicago, she’d been scared. She’d gotten over that quickly. The will to survive and the knowledge that she only had herself to depend on had made her tough. The key to taking down a bigger, tougher opponent was the element of surprise. Without it, she didn’t have a chance.

      She lunged forward, aiming her foot for the man’s instep and hitting her mark. He grunted, and she rammed both fists into his stomach, hopped out the door into the cold clean air. With her ankles tied, she couldn’t move fast, but she stumbled down the stairs, managed to stay upright as she headed across overgrown grass. She didn’t know where she was going, didn’t have a clue as to where she could find safety. If she managed to escape the fenced area, she’d have to trek through thick forests to get to civilization. The closest town was a tiny speck on the map—seventy miles away, fifteen hundred people, ten full-time police officers. One of them with deep connections to Amos Way. She might not find allies there, but at least she could find a phone, could call a friend to give her a ride back to Baltimore.

      The compound’s main gates were to the north, but heading there wouldn’t do her any good. She tried to run toward the side of the trailer, tripped on her feet and the ropes that bound her ankles. She fell hard, the breath knocked from her lungs, her fists slamming into her gut.

      She tried to get to her feet.

      “You don’t know when to give up, do СКАЧАТЬ